KV-3

Development and preliminary design

In 1940, the KV-1 and KV-2 (both represented in the game as the KV) tanks were the heavy tanks of the USSR army. Even before the war started, the Russian military recognized the need for more armor. The KV was only just in mass production, but an order was made for an improved version of it on June 17th, 1940. The tank factory in Kirov was to make 4 prototypes by the end of the year: 2 versions with 90 mm and 2 versions with 100 mm armor. Of the two types, one should be armed with an 85 mm gun, the other with a 76 mm gun.

The factory only managed to complete two of this prototypes: the 90 mm armored design with a 76 mm gun, basically an up-armored KV-1 tank, and a 100 mm armored design with the 85 mm gun. They were respectively called T-150 (or Object 150) and T-220 (or Object 220). Apart from extra armor, the T-150 only differed on some details from the KV-1 (an improved cupola and a new 700 hp engine are the most important changes). The inside of the tank didn't change, as the extra armor was mounted externally. During testing, the T-150 suffered from overheating in higher gears, even though outside temperatures were well below zero degrees centigrade.

The T-220 was a more radical innovation. The hull was lengthened, a wheel was added and a new gun, the 85 mm F-30 main gun, was mounted. The gun was already successfully tested on the T-28 that fall. Testing of the T-220 started at the end of January 1941, but after one day the 700 hp V-5 engine could not cope with the weight of 62 tonnes and failed.

Despite this problems, orders were received to mass-produce the T-150, under the name KV-3, in March, as the current tanks of the Soviet army were becoming more and more obsolete. However, the factory and the designers chose to concentrate on developing the T-220 instead, now under the name KV-220. The tank was tested extensively and received a new 850 hp diesel engine with supercharger. However, not only the engine was suffering from the weight of 70 tons. Suspension and torsion bars bent and twisted, and the transmission had problems as well. Still, the tank was able to complete nearly 2,000 km of testing before the start of Operation Barbarossa.

The factory started preparation for mass production again, but was stopped by the Soviet military. Intelligence showed that the Germans were also designing a heavy tank, so the Soviet design would become even more important. If it failed, the Russian army would not have an adequate counter to the German threat. This meant the design of the KV-3 was again subject to modification of both hull and turret, and a new gun, the 107 mm ZiS-6, was to be mounted on the tank.

Moreover, new, heavier tanks were demanded, most notably the KV-4 heavy tank. With a design weight of 90 tonnes, this tank was too heavy to go in production, especially taking into account the problems with the transmission that were plaguing the much lighter KV tank. A KV-5 tank, with a hull height of 9 meters, was also ordered, but never got beyond the drawing board. Possibly the most feasible design proposal was the KV-9 heavy assault tank. With a weight of 48 tons, a 122 mm howitzer, and front armor of 135 mm, this was a much more realistic design. Two prototypes of the tank were completed, but the tank never went into mass production. Finally, a turretless prototype, the KV-7, was sent to Moscow for review. The tank mounted multiple guns, and was rejected by Stalin for this reason.

The fate of the prototypes

With the war underway, the KV factories that were experimenting with prototypes focused on mass production of the KV, the only Russian tank that was truly feared by Germany at the time. The unfinished prototypes were ripped of their experimental turrets and guns and were sent to the front with KV-1 turrets. The T-220 (KV-3) model served under the 124th tank battalion and was destroyed near the Ust-Tosno railway bridge in December 1941. The T-150 was sent to the 123th tank battalion, but it's fate is unknown.

Further development of the KV series was halted, but the experience of the testing was used to design the successful IS tank.

Conclusion